The Ending of it All
by love-me-nots
Summary: Harry, Hermione and Ron are older, not to mention wiser. There's no plans of returning to Hogwarts this year. The only thing on their minds is to destroy the remaining Horcruxes and return everything to normal. How can they do it without the help of Dumbl
1. The Final Time

A/N: These are not my characters, they are J.K.R.'s and she owns all rights. The plot is mine.

Hello, I'm Brittany. I used to have quite a few stories up here but I gave up on them after awhile. This one ought to be really good, it will be my version of book 7. I hope you all enjoy and feel free to comment. Constructive criticism is encouraged! Also if you have not read the 6th book you will most certainly be confused!

Chapter 1: The Final Time

* * *

As promised, Harry had returned to the Dursley's for his last time. He had no particular feeling about this, but the Dursleys could barely supress their glee. Having Harry gone from the house permanantly meant no more odd things happening in their household. True, the majority of the things Harry did weren't his fault; Dudley's tongue, the pudding on the floor, the Dementors that had been in Little Whinging last year. The Dursleys were quite keen to be back to normal after seventeen years of keeping their dark secret quiet.

During the drive home from King's Cross, Uncle Vernon gave Harry a question that he had not formed an answer to yet.

"So..er... that man last summer said you'd be here one last time. When do you leave?" he asked in an oddly hopeful tone.

Harry had his forhead pressed against the window, staring at the trees flashing by.

"Dunno.. I don't know where to go exactly."

"Well you won't be welcome here, you ought to know that," said Uncle Vernon, returning to his usual manner.

Harry had his ideas, mind you. Like he had said to Hermione and Ron, he wanted to return to Godric's Hollow. But what was he looking for? Did he really think his old house would still be lying amongst a pile of rubble? And he still had the thoughts of the Horcruxes racing through his mind. The locket..the cup..the snake.. something of Gryffindor or Ravenclaw's.

Hermione was right; Voldemort was at the core of all of this. It was he, Harry, who would have to stop it. Harry looked blankly out the window at passersby and realized they were already pulling up into the driveway. He pulled his luggage out of the trunk and wasted no time once he was back "home". He did not bother to unpack his things. There was really no need to bring out the spellbooks, the quills, and especially the calendar he always marked the days off of until his return to Hogwarts. Hogwarts was no longer a place of solitude to him, a place to feel safe. Dumbledore had always represented a figure of security to Harry. Just like Sirius. Harry saw no point in returning; he had all he needed to know.

He set Hedwig down on his dresser and fed her a few owl treats. He sat down at his desk and thought, staring into the darkening sky. He opened the drawer and found some spare parchment left behind along with a quill. He pulled two sheets out and started writing a letter to Ron first;

_I'd like to come back to the Burrow in a few days. Is there any way that you could come and get me? I want Hermione to come, too, if she can. After that we can decide what to do from there._

_Harry_

Harry did not know what else to include as he had not decided what to do. He thought hard about what would be best, and then pulled out the other sheet and wrote to Hermione.

_Hermione, is there any way that you can come to the Burrow? We all need to meet and decide what to do. I think I'd like to go back to Godric's Hollow, then perhaps Grimmauld Place. Write me back please._

_Harry_

He laid down on his bed and stared at the ceiling. He could hear the T.V. downstairs while Uncle Vernon criticized the program. Aunt Petunia was in the kitchen because he could hear the clinking of dishes and silverware. He had no idea where Dudley was, nor did he care. Probably out with his gang. Harry decided to go downstairs and do something that could be considered either stupid or bold. Or both.

He stepped slowly down the stairs and went into the kitchen where Aunt Petunia was chopping celery. She did not glance at him.

"Er..Aunt Petunia..I wanted to ask you a question..." he started awkwardly.

"Well, what is it?" she answered briskly.

"You know when my mum moved out? Into Godric's Hollow?"

She absently dropped the knife and closed her eyes. He knew she did not like talking about her sister.

"Yes, I know. What about it?"

"I want to know where it is."

Petunia stood there a long time, a thought of deep concentration. He knew she was probably trying to remember, as this was a long time ago.

" I'm not sure. I never went to visit her. Why?" she snapped.

"I want to go there. Do you at least know which part of the country?"

"Wales. Now leave me alone".

Harry had retrieved the smallest bit of information he could have recieved from her. He doubted he would get much more. He turned on his heel and went back to his room. Hedwig should be back tomorrow morning with luck. Harry wanted to leave as soon as possible.

He thought that although Dumbledore never said to tell the other members of the Order about the Horcruxes, it might be necessary. He needed all the help he could get. He laid down on his bed again and stared into the Hedwig-less sky. His eyes closed uncontrollably and he lulled into a sleep, waiting for Hedwig.


	2. Return to the Burrow

A/N: No reviews on the first chappie. Oh well. That's life. I don't own any of the characters, only the plot, so on and so forth. Hopefully I might get a review on this one. Enjoy!

That morning, Hedwig had returned from her journey, two letters enclosed tightly in her beak. Harry wasted no time ripping them open, Ron's first.

_Harry,_

_Did you forget about the wedding? Dad said we'll come get you Friday at 4. The wedding is Sunday. See you soon,_

_Ron_

He opened Hermione's next;

_Harry,_

_Of course I'll come. My parents are taking me to the Burrow Friday night, but I'll see you soon enough._

_Love,_

_Hermione_

Truthfully enough, Harry _had_ forgotten about the wedding. He felt a twinge of guilt but then excitement erupted inside of him knowing that he would soon be with his real family. He wished he was old enough to apparate.. Then he wouldn't have to ask Mr.Weasley to go through all this trouble to come and get him.

He walked downstairs where the Dursley's were eating breakfast, Uncle Vernon reading the paper , Dudley's eyes glued to the television and Aunt Petunia looking out the window at the neighbors.

Harry did not join them, he had no wish to. He wanted to get this over with as soon as possible.

He cleared his throat awkwardly and said, "Erm.. I'll be leaving on Friday, the Weasley's are coming to get me.. If you remember them.."

Harry had no doubt in his mind that they had not forgotten them after two years ago; with Mr. Weasley blasting apart the fireplace and the incident with the Ton-Tongue Toffee.

"And you aren't coming back then?" Uncle Vernon asked slyly. Harry shook his head. "Fine with me, then."

Apparently Uncle Vernon had no objection to the possible damage by wizards if they were taking Harry away for good. Aunt Petunia said nothing but looked at him with an odd expression in her eyes. Dudley had his eyes attached to the television.

Harry walked back upstairs and began packing, a smile spreading across his face.

Friday came in a burst of beautiful weather, the sun warming everything around it. Harry had his suitcase and an extra bag ready by the foot of the stairs. He needed to pack more this time because he wasn't coming back. Not that he minded. The Dursleys steered clear of him all day just as they had last time he had been picked up.

At 2:45, he went down to the living room. He expected that they would be picking him by Floo Powder again like last time. Yet at 3:00 sharp, there was a knock on the door. Harry opened it cautiously while the Aunt Petunia peeked carefully from behind the kitchen wall.

Mr. Weasley and Ron stood there, both grinning. Harry looked behind him and saw a car that looked like it belonged to the Ministry. Mr. Weasley noticed him looking at it.

"Fudge isn't there anymore, and since I've got a promotion there won't be any more mishaps, let's hope. Scrimgeour didn't mind a bit", he said. Harry opened the door to be polite and let them inside.

"I've just gotta grab my bags, hold on", he said. But when he reached the bottom of the stairs to grab them , Aunt Petunia came up behind him and did something he never would have expected. She hugged him.

"I want you to be careful. I know you haven't liked us all that much, but you're still my sister's son. Please be careful. Do it for me", she said huffily, as though it were taking a great deal of effort. Harry assured her he would, and grabbed his bags, Hedwig and left. Ron looked shocked. When they had walked down the sidewalk and gotten in the car, Ron turned around to look at him.

"What the bloody hell was that about?" he asked.

"No idea. Didn't see that one coming", he answered. He did know why though. Last year Aunt Petunia had known the severity of Voldemort's return, and she knew what he was going to do. He was, like she said, her sister's son, and her nephew. Deep down, perhaps, she did care for him. While driving down the winding country road, listening to the Wizard radio, Mr. Weasley turned it down to talk to Harry.

"Bill has healed nicely, Harry. It's not as bad as we thought it would turn out." he said conversationally. He knew he was just trying to avoid talking about Dumbledore.

"That's good", he managed to say. He just wanted to get to the Burrow as fast as possible. About a half hour later, they pulled up into the driveway of the shabby house that Harry had come to love. Ron helped him get his things from the trunk and they made their way inside.

Mrs. Weasley was sitting at the kitchen table drinking tea, deep in conversation with Bill and Fleur. Mr. Weasley was right, Bill _did_ look much better. You could still see the scars from his bite, but other than that he looked quite alright. Fleur, looking as beautiful as ever, if not more, looked up as Harry entered. She and Mrs. Weasley got up to hug him and give them their hellos. Bill merely waved, unsure if his presence might have scared him.

"We were just putting the finishing plans on the wedding, dear, but dinner will be ready soon so why don't you take your things upstairs?", Mrs. Weasley asked. Harry nodded, and he and Ron climbed the rickety stairs that led to the third floor. Entering Ron's bright orange bedroom, Harry sat down on the mattress.

"They're really happy. Bill and Fleur", Ron said.

"I can tell", replied Harry, a small smile playing upon his lips. He didn't want to talk about this.

"When do you want to leave?" he asked Ron. When Ron looked puzzled, Harry specified.

"I wanted to go to Godric's Hollow", he said, watching Ron's expression.

"And what are you going to find there, Harry? Really, now. Why not spend your time doing more worthwhile things, like finding out more about the Horcruxes?" he asked, shaking his head.

"Well, have you thought about them?" Harry snapped. Ron sat on his bed, Indian-style, and smirked.

"As a matter of fact, I have. Don't you remember Grimmauld Place? The day we were cleaning? That golden locket in the cabinet, you ever thought about that? I mean, come on.. The house was devoted to dark arts. I bet that's it", he said knowledgeably. Harry thought hard. He had completely forgotten about the locket in the drawing room, as he tried not to think about Sirius's house at all.

"Yeah, it could be, but I'll bet Mundungus has pawned that off, already", he said miserably. At that moment, Harry heard footsteps on coming closer. The door widened and there stood Ginny. Harry's heart felt as if it had leapt into his throat.

"Hey Harry. Mum told me you were here", she said, as though everything were normal again. She gave him a quick hug but released quickly. "I just wanted to come and say hello.. And that dinner is ready". She left the room, giving one last yearning look at Harry.

"Want to go down then?" Ron asked, pretending he had not just witnessed that.

"Yeah, I'm starving.. Aunt Petunia's no queen of the kitchen, I can tell you that", Harry said, half laughing.

Ron joined him and then went down to the kitchen. It seemed like a lot of people were missing. Tonks, her hair dark brown and shoulder-length, sitting next to Lupin, looking as healthy as ever, Fleur and Bill, of course, and the rest of the Weasleys. Harry wondered briefly that if Sirius were still alive, would Mrs. Weasley have allowed _him_ to come? There was a great bustle of movement around the table as everyone was entangling their arms to reach the dishes. Although there was much talk, it was not as happy as it could have been. Fred and George were there, talking about how business had been going lately. Fleur kept gazing at her engagement ring in between bites, mesmerized by it. Bill was eating with almost inhuman appetite and Lupin and Tonks sat eating and conversing quietly.

Mrs. Weasley was still setting yet more food onto the table, Mr. Weasley helping. The only person missing was Hermione. They ate, drank and talked merrily, and Harry felt his spirits rise in spite of everything that had been going on. He was at his favorite place, with his favorite people, and was going to be at a wedding in just two days time. There was a soft knock at the door, and Ron offered to get it quickly. Harry thought this odd because Ron was still eating and there were at least three or four people done by now. Ron flattened his hair and opened the door, beaming at Hermione. She gave him a small hug, and Harry couldn't help but laugh. Everything seemed okay. For now at least. He knew that in a few minutes time, he would be upstairs with Ron and Hermione discussing what to do from here. And he felt his smile vanish.


	3. Rise and Shine!

A/N: Don't own the characters, blah blah blah. Still no reviews, maybe because nothing too exciting has happened yet. Hopefully this will make the story a bit more interesting; also just a bit of kissing here.

Interestingly enough, however, Harry did not talk to Ron and Hermione about his plans. He just didn't feel ready. He went to bed right after dinner and fell asleep on the cot in Ron's room within a matter of minutes, Ron snoring close by. In the middle of the night, Harry heard something. He chanced a look out the widow; it was still dark. He heard footsteps coming up the stairs, and the slow creaking of the door opening. Whoever it was shut it quickly. They tip-toed over towards Harry, past him, and sat on Ron's bed. Harry could hear the springs in the matress descending.

"Ron?" said a girls voice. Harry recognized it as Hermiones.

Ron grunted and rolled over as Harry stole a peek from his winced eyes. Ron sat up and rubbed his eyes groggily and stared at Hermione.

"What are you doing here?" he asked stupidly.

"I wanted to talk to you.. are you sure Harry is asleep?" she asked cautiously. Harry quickly shut his eyes and gave a convincing snore.

"Er.. sure.. why?" Ron asked, still confused.

"Ron, I want to know how you feel about me. How you really feel. I just didn't want to ask you when everyone was awake and around us. I just wanted some privacy, but if you mind, I'll leave", she said. Ron looked like he had no intentions of kicking her out.

"Why do you want to know? Why now?" he asked.

"Since we ever met I know I might act a lot like your mother; always nagging you and such, but it's not to be rude. It's because I care about you. And last year when you were always snogging Lavander I just wanted to scream. I really do like you Ron, I just never knew how to put it because you and I are like best friends. We are best friends. I just don't want you to react badly, or reject me..." she said in a small voice.

"Hermione.. I do like you... how do you think I felt when you went to the ball with Krum? You just know how I am.. I'm not good with girls. That's Harry.."

"Well, that's debatable.. but why can't we be together?" Hermione said. Harry screwed up his face. Debatable?

"I never really knew if you wanted to be. I didn't catch on till a few months ago.. but with everything that happened at school I doubted you wanted someone like me around.. someone to yell at", Ron said depressingly.

"Ron, I do want to be with you"..

Ron yawned and then said,"Well then, let's be together".

Hermione beamed and laid down on the bed next to Ron. Ron however, looked uncertain.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Don't worry, I'll leave before anyone else wakes up. Just lay down", he heard her say.

Already, Harry could tell this was something he did not want to witness. He heard Ron lay back down next to Hermione and the next thing he knew, he heard kissing. Lots of it. And apparently they were enjoying it by the sounds they were making. Harry was trying to drown out the sounds and go back to sleep before anything else happened, but found it hard. He imagined what it would be like if Ginny had come into the room to lay down with him and kiss and Ron was awake, listening. He immediately decided not to say anything to Ron about this. He started counting sheep to distract himself and fell back asleep.

* * *

In the morning, Harry woke up before Ron or Hermione did. Hermione was wearing an over-sized white t-shirt and laying on her side, and Ron was behind her with his hand over her waist, protecting her hands. Harry had to admit, they did look like a great couple. He quickly got dressed but before he had even put his shirt over his head, the door opened. In came Mrs. Weasley with a pile of clean laundry.

"Oh, hello, Harry dear.. I was just bringing up some things of Ron's.. is he...awake..yet?" Mrs. Weasley began, but then took notice of the pair lying in the bed and made the conclusion that Ron was most definately not awake. _He will be soon_, thought Harry. Mrs. Weasley's face turned pale and she dropped the basket of laundry. Harry sensed a round of shouting about to begin but he headed her off. These were his best friends, after all.

"Er..Mrs. Weasley.. it's not what you think.. Last night she came in here, she said she couldn't sleep well... I offered her my bed but she said she didn't want to have to make me move.. so er.. she crawled in with Ron.. but nothing happened", he said awkwardly. It sounded extremely stupid, but it was the best he could come up with for now.

Mrs. Weasley still had a look of deepest disgust on her face. She marched over to Ron and Hermione and snatched the covers off of them, revealing their spooning position. Mrs. Weasley's face contorted with rage. She threw a hateful glance at Harry and he backed up. He didn't know how bad this could turn out. Ron awoke from the absence of blankets, saw his mother and jumped up extremely fast. He looked quite embarassed and his ears turned flaming red.

"_What in Godric Gryffindor's name is going on here_!" Mrs. Weasley whispered through gritted teeth.

Ron said nothing. Behind Mrs. Weasley's back, Harry shook his head back and forth, trying to tell him non-verbally that the truth wasn't necessary..yet.

"Er...well, you see.." he began.

"Yes, I see! And I want to hear an explanation!" she said hotly. Hermione roused and woke with a start. She stared from Mrs. Weasley, her hands on her hips, to Ron, blinking stupidly with his mouth open, and to Harry, with his shirt half on. Hermione, however, was much quicker at thinking up stories than Ron would have been. She immediately added on to the same story that Harry had told her.

"Oh, Mrs. Weasley, I know this looks bad, but really, it's not... last night that dreadful ghoul of yours kept me up, clanging on the pipes and such, and I just couldn't possibly go to sleep. I came in here because it was closest to where I was, I didn't want to wake up the whole house, you know.. Harry heard me come in and I would have asked him to move, but I just couldn't do that. So I crawled in Ron's bed. But nothing happened!" she added very quickly at the end.

Mrs. Weasley looked like she was torn between yelling at the pair of them or crying herself to tears. She mustered all the self-control she possibly could, and said in what she thought was a calm voice, though it was trembling with fury,"This won't be happening again. From now on if you can't sleep then you are to go sleep in Ginny's room. Ron, your clean clothes are there on the floor."

She left without another word.


End file.
